House Speaker John Boehner, surrounded by Republican House members, speaks during a news conference in Washington in December. The House initially rejected a plan to extend a tax cut for two months to buy time for talks on a full-year renewal. It later compromised — a rare event in 2011.
Susan Walsh/AP
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Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has seen a recent bump in the polls. More criticism is sure to come, but Gingrich says he doesn't think attacks from other candidates will be effective.
Richard Shiro/AP
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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15. Debate over Pentagon spending cuts is heating up as a bipartisan congressional panel tries to come up with a plan to cut the federal deficit.
Evan Vucci/AP
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President Obama salutes service members from both sides of the Atlantic as he walks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the G-20 summit in Cannes, France, last week.
Markus Schreiber/AFP/Getty Images
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This undated photo provided by the National Nuclear Security Administration shows the last B53 nuclear bomb. It was dismantled this past week, just outside Amarillo, Texas. It's a milestone in efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons.